ONE BADGE, ONE DAY, AT SCOUTLAND
20 MERIT BADGES TO CHOOSE FROM

PATHFINDERS 2015 – Don’t Miss It!

Whether you are a new Boy Scout or well down the path to Eagle, Pathfinders 2015 is your unique opportunity to earn some of your favorite merit badges. With 10 days to select from and 20 top merit badges, why wait any longer?

The Pathfinders program is offered daily over the two weeks of June 8-12, 2015 & June 15-19, 2015. You can attend one day, 2 days, 3 days or every day! At Pathfinders, you can earn a merit each day. And in some cases, you can earn two in a day.

We offer the opportunity for a Scout to spend a day or more at camp and earn a merit badge. Your Scout can earn his choice of Archery, First-Aid, Fishing, Radio, Leatherwork and Basketry, Photography and Art, Rifle Shooting, Swimming, Welding and Wood Carving and many more.

Attend one or multiple days! Have an exciting time at camp and go home to sleep in your own bed at night!

The Line Up of Merit Badges Offered …

Archery: Spend a day shooting archery. Sign up early, space is limited. There is an additional materials fee of $17 that covers the cost of the arrow kit, string kit, and other items required for the badge.

Bird Study: This Merit Badge will introduce your scout to the world of Birding and all it has to offer in studying these wonderful creatures. You will need to provide your own Field Glasses for this merit badge. Birds are among the most fascinating creatures on Earth. Many are beautifully colored. Others are accomplished singers. Many of the most important discoveries about birds and how they live have been made by amateur birders. In pursuing this hobby, a Scout might someday make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the natural world. This Merit Badge will only be available on Wednesday’s of each week.

Canoeing: For several centuries, the canoe was a primary method of travel for explorers and settlers. Today, it remains an important part of the wilderness experience and an enjoyable leisure activity that teaches communication, teamwork, and physical fitness.

* First Aid: First Aid will teach your Scout basic first aid skills, including how to provide emergency treatment for the most common injuries, from simple scrapes and cuts to broken bones. One of the Eagle required merit badges. In order to complete this merit badge at Pathfinders your scout will need to complete requirement #2 prior to arriving.

Fishing: Fishing is one of the most basic and classic ways to enjoy the outdoors. This class will teach your scout about the techniques and laws related to Fishing. Scouts 16 years of age and older will need to have a valid fishing license for the state of Georgia prior to arriving at camp. They will also need to bring their own fishing equipment, including lures and hooks. While all requirements may be completed at camp, requirement #9 does require you to catch a fish, as such, the possibility exists that they may need to complete this requirement outside of Pathfinders.

Indian Lore: Far different from the stereotypes or common images that are portrayed on film, on television, and in many books and stories, Native Americans have many different cultures, languages, religions, styles of dress, and ways of life. To learn about these different groups is to take an exciting journey of discovery in which you will meet some of America’s most fascinating peoples. There will be a $15 materials fee to cover the cost of the craft kits required for the completion of this Merit Badge. This Merit Badge is only available on Tuesdays of each week.

Leatherworking/Basketry: Have a fun day with crafts and earn 2 merit badges. There is a $24 additional materials cost that provides for the 3 kits needed to complete the requirements of these badges. Completion of these kits will likely take longer than the allotted time; however, all other requirements for this merit badge will be completed the day your scout participates in Pathfinders.

*Oceanography: Oceanography covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor. This Merit Badge is only available on Thursdays of each week. In order to complete this merit badge at Pathfinders your scout will need to complete requirement #8a prior to arriving.

Painting: This merit badge provides an opportunity for Scouts to learn more about painting, including both the artistic and practical aspects. In order to complete this merit badge at Pathfinders your scout will need to complete requirement #8 prior to arriving.

Photography/*Art: Photography teaches your scout the basic techniques and principles involved in taking great pictures; including introducing them to the concepts of light, shadow, photo composition and proportion. The scout will need to bring a digital camera for this merit badge.

Art focuses on drawing and painting in different media, including an introduction to the graphic arts and industrial design, history and design principles, and how these fields relate to fine art. In order to complete this merit badge at Pathfinders your scout will need to complete requirement #6 and #7 prior to arriving.

*Radio: Radio will teach your scout about using a ham radio for worldwide communications and introduce them to a fun and exciting hobby. In order to be able to complete this merit badge at Pathfinders your son will need to complete requirements #8 prior to arriving at Scoutland. This class is only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays of each week.

Rifle Shooting: This class will provide your Scout with basic shooting skills with a focus on safety principles. This is an extremely popular merit badge and space is limited. There is an additional $5 fee to cover the cost of materials.

Small Boat Sailing: Sailing is one of the most enjoyable pastimes on the open water. The quiet and peacefulness of the water can provide a pleasant break from everyday life. However, smooth sailing requires paying careful attention to safety.

Swimming: Improve your swimming techniques and enhance your aquatics confidence. One of Eagle required badges. You should already know how to swim when taking this badge.

Traffic Safety/Fingerprinting: Staying safe in traffic wherever you live is getting more difficult all the time, as more and more people take to the road. Earning the Traffic Safety merit badge will give Scouts some crucial tools to stay safer when driving a car on a highway, riding a bike across town, or jogging across a busy street.

In earning the Fingerprinting merit badge, Scouts will learn about and use an important technique that is used by law enforcement officers, along with other materials like matching dental records and DNA sampling, to help identify amnesia victims, missing persons, abducted children, and others.

*Welding: Learn a great skill that you will carry with you and can use for the rest of your life with this new merit badge. There is an additional materials cost of $24 that provides for the materials needed to complete some of the requirements of the merit badge. In order to complete this merit badge at Pathfinders your scout will need to complete requirement #7a prior to arriving.

Woodcarving: Learn a great skill and develop your artistic ability with this timeless merit badge. There is an additional materials cost of $7 that provides for the cost of the kit needed to complete the requirements of this merit badge.

*Please note: There are some merit badges that we are offering during Pathfinders that have requirements that are beyond the scope of this program, those have been indicated in the individual merit badge description as a pre-requisite to completing the merit badge at Pathfinders. Any scout who has not completed the prerequisite requirement is still welcome and able to participate in the class, however they will not have completed the merit badge at the end of the day.

Others may have requirements that while they can be started at Pathfinders, may not be able to be completed due to a lack of time, such as some of the craft kits. In all of these cases please refer to the individual advancement page that your scout received at the end of the day to see which requirements they did and did not complete.